Spider-Man 3: Spinning a Web on Wii

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Vicarious Visions reveals how you'll be catching thieves just like flies this May.

By Hilary Goldstein

A few weeks back, Activision showed off the PS3/360 version of Spider-Man 3 to a small gathering of journalists. The PS3 and 360 versions, developed by Treyarch, feature interactive cinematic moments, a sprawling Manhattan with an extensive sewer and subway system and a "gangs of New York" dynamic that evolves crime on the streets as you play through the game. Nothing was said about the Wii version at the time.

Curiosity got the best of us, so IGN spoke to Vicarious Visions' CEO Karthik Bala and controls designer Jonathan Mintz about what Spidey 3 will be like on Wii. As you might expect, the Wiimote and Nunchuk enable you to swing through Manhattan in a way never previously experienced by gamers. We also learned if Miis will populate Manhattan, if Spider-Man 3 on Wii will support progressive scan and find out about two villains appearing exclusively on PS2, PSP and Wii.

IGN: You have a large streaming world on PS2, PSP and Wii. Since these systems are somewhat limited by the hardware, what sacrifices were made from the PS3/360 version of Manhattan?

Karthik Bala: Although all skus of Spider-Man 3 share the premise and overarching storyline of the movie, the game design on PS2, PSP, Wii differs from the PS3/360. Our overall goal was to play to the strengths of the various hardware platforms, giving a different player experience depending on their platform of choice. The PS2 version features a city that is 2.5 times bigger than the city in Spider-Man 2 PS2. The PSP version offers an expansive free roaming city gameplay on a portable system (which wasn't there in SM2 PSP). The Wii version offers a whole new way of web shooting and swinging through the city. The Wii-mote and Nunchuk become your webshooters!

IGN: How will I use my Wiimote and Nunchuck to control Spider-Man?

Jonathan Mintz: Let's start with the basics: running and jumping are controlled with the Nunchuk. As you might expect, using the Analog Stick moves Spidey. The Z Button is used for jumping.

But we know you're not playing a Spider-Man game to run and jump - it's all about the webs. When you're web-swinging in Spider-Man 3, the Wii Remote and Nunchuk become Spider-Man's right and left hands. By holding the B Button and moving the Wii Remote or holding the Z Button and moving the Nunchuk, Spider-Man will cast out his web lines in the direction that you move. Flick the controllers forward to swing down a street or whip them to the sides to power around a corner.

As for combat, your melee moves are simple. Swinging the Wii Remote left or right allows you to perform quick attacks. Moving the Wii Remote and Nunchuk down at the same time lets you execute a strong attack to finish off foes with powerful attack combos. You can also tap the A Button to perform a strong attack or hold it to uppercut foes into the air.

Tapping on the B Button fires one of Spider-Man's web splats, slowing down the bad guys. Holding B Button will attach a web line to enemies - that's where things get really cool. Want to swing the chump around Spider-Man's head in a classic Web Rodeo? Just move the Wii Remote in a circle. Flicking the Wii Remote and Nunchuk up will perform a Web Hammer, pulling the enemy over Spider-Man's head and slamming him into the ground. If the enemy is too big to move, he can leap on top of him and smash him in the face.

Spider-Man's isn't known for standing around and getting punched, so a quick flick of the Nunchuk will let you dodge out of the way of attacks. If you're moving towards an enemy when you dodge, you'll vault over their heads, letting you attack them from behind.

There are more surprises, too, like using webs to attack enemies from the air - or to pull enemies back to you after an uppercut! And we haven't even mentioned the adrenaline-fueled special attacks.

IGN: How ridiculous will I look playing this game in my living room?

Mintz: That's up to you! If you want to put on your Spider-Man pajamas and flail your arms around to sling webs just like your hero, be our guest. If you'd rather sit on your couch and swing around the city with gentle flicks of your wrists, you can do that too.

IGN: How do you balance making it fun to control Spider-Man and making it functional, so it can offer the same game as on PS2?

Mintz: We explored lots of different control schemes to find the best approach to Spider-Man 3 for the Wii. We found that simplicity and context-sensitivity were the keys to making a Wii game that's easy to pick up and play. To keep the pace of the game fast, we chose to focus on an intuitive set of motion controls that respond very quickly to player input.

IGN: One of the biggest concerns so far for Wii games has been camera control. Since Spider-Man moves very quickly how are you handling the camera? Will we have any control at all?

Mintz: Our development team has done a phenomenal job of building a camera system that can keep up with Spider-Man. We're hoping that players won't need to worry about the camera at all. In a pinch, though, they can tap the C Button on the Nunchuk to re-center the camera behind Spider-Man.

Of course, exploring Manhattan would be less fun if you couldn't stop and admire the view now and then. To look around freely, players can hold the C Button and tilt the Nunchuk horizontally or vertically.